Thousands in Honduras March for President's Resignation
Thousands of Hondurans took to the streets to demand the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernandez in an enormous corruption scandal.
Reuters reports that an estimated 25,000 people carrying torches walked through the streets of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa to demand the president's resignation and an independent investigation, led by people from outside the country, into the scandal. The march began in one of the city's poor neighborhoods and passed through ritzy commercial areas before it arrived at the presidential palace to ensure Orlando heard their demands.
The scandal revolves around the Honduran Institute of Social Security, which Al Jazeera reports provides healthcare services for one eighth of the population. Members of the institute created companies and would then approve contracts for goods and services far above market value, pocketing the difference for themselves.
Reuters reports that scandal involved at least $200 million and the president's election campaign received $150,000 from companies implicated in the corruption.
This corruption had lethal consequences, as at least 11 deaths have been traced back to drugs sold by such companies, according to Al Jazeera.
In addition to the corruption allegations, protesters were motivated by a recent Supreme Court decision that removed a one-term limit for the president.
The scandal has also ravaged the already struggling Honduran health care system, forcing people who need medicine to spend hours in line to see a doctor or get a prescription filled. According to Al Jazeera, more often than not, people leave without either.
Trust in the public health system has deteriorated so much that the system has now been taken over by the military, and soldiers in fatigues walking hospital hallways are as common as doctors and nurses.
